Bluffton's worst golfer has an affinity for the woods

Forrest Brown was selected by Oldfield PGA Professional and Instructor Kevin Hankey as "Bluffton's Worst Golfer." Brown is about to undergo a series of free lessons with Hankey to improve his game.

Forrest Brown thinks his symbiotic relationship with the trees, no matter what golf course he is playing, has a lot to do with his first name.

“Forrest? Woods? I think I know the woods here in Sun City better than anyone else,” he said.

Brown is PGA Professional Kevin Hankey’s newest student under the dubious honor of being named “Bluffton’s Worst Golfer.” Hankey, the assistant pro at Oldfield Golf Club in Bluffton, ran a similar program two years ago and garnered so many responses that he wanted to try it again.

“I love golf and I want to help other people improve their game by sharing my skills with someone who thinks they are hopeless,” Hankey said.

For whatever reason, only two hopeful hackers applied and Brown was selected since, as Hankey explained, it is easier to talk to the general public about right-handed golfing skills than left-handed.

“I teach both, but I think writing articles about the lefty from Hilton Head would be challenging for readers to understand,” Hankey said.

When Brown learned he was selected, he emailed Hankey: “I am eager to compete for the title of ‘Bluffton’s Worst Golfer’! Wow, and I thought seeking fame, fortune and fancy titles in the corporate world was exciting. My clubs are filthy, my golf shoes are caked with mud and my game is rustier than when you saw me last. Yes, I am ready for the challenge.”

In reality, his shoes were cleaned after the last round he played (“They get kind of grubby.”), and his clubs weren’t too bad. As for the condition of his game, though, as far as Brown is concerned, Hankey will have enough challenges trying to correct his faults.

“My wife, Elaine, and I took up golf 14 years ago when our daughter went off to college. Elaine’s good but I am sure I have 14 years of bad habits that need correcting,” Brown said. “When we met for the first time Kevin looked at my game, shook his head and said ‘I could fix some of that.’ Whether he meant he can fix that one thing or that many things, I’m not sure. I think many things.”

Brown had a stint in the U.S. Army military police, including a year in-country in Vietnam. He began to work for Ford Motor Co. shortly after and dealt mostly with dealership franchising all around the country during his career. The couple met 33 years ago in Denver, Colo., where Elaine was an executive secretary. After a very short romance, they married. Although there were numerous occasions when corporate outings included rounds of golf, Brown confessed that he would either go play tennis or do paperwork. He did not become a weekend golfer, either.

“It took away from the family time I had between trips so I never took it up,” Brown said.

Now the couple play social golf with several friends and they enjoy it ... to a point.

“I quit every six months. And when we go out to play, Elaine’s game gets worse. She’s so worried that I am not having a good time,” Brown said.

Over the next several weeks, Brown will meet with Hankey for a series of lessons to get the basics down and help the body acquire muscle memory for the right position and swing.

“I think that part of my problem is I always approached golf as a sport you manhandled because that’s the kind of sports I was involved with,” Brown said.

Although built for contact sports, Brown said he was a competitive swimmer, water polo player in college, a body surfer (he’s a California boy) and was an extreme snow skier for a decade (which is why he’s had a hip replaced, he said. “It was fun at the time.”)

“I always thought golf was where you hit the ball as hard as you can, and that doesn’t work very well. In fact, it doesn’t work at all,” he said. “It’s a game of finesse. Elaine’s got finesse. That’s why she’s good.”

It was his wife who brought the opportunity to Brown’s attention as one last chance to get his game in order. His goal is to enjoy the game of golf again by not trying to take it so seriously as well as to improve his game a bit.

“I go along and hit the ball pretty well at first but then something goes wrong, I start swinging too hard and it all goes badly,” he said. “I think Kevin has the right personality that I think will work well with me.”

Brown said he and Hankey had a good time together in their initial meeting but the pro did get serious about one thing.

“He asked me how I was at commitment. I said I will take it seriously, no matter what the requirement was. If I needed to get out on the range on my own, then I would do that. I don’t keep at it and that is my fault,” he said.

“I’m not looking for the notoriety this may or may not get me. That’s not why I signed up,” Brown added. “I honestly signed up to improve my golf game.”